(EP-73.2) Aftermath #2
073 – Clean Up and Aftermath #2
“What’s so funny?”
“No, I am Mirna, the Young Lady of the Draco Family. Commoner, what are you doing right now?”
“Are you trying to insult me?”
Mirna said it as if she was angry, but her expression also had some calmness.
The gloominess that had filled her face was no longer there.
In fact, Mirna was the one who got devastated the most today.
The bodies that the Draco Family kept in their family cemetery were stolen, and her Lich father, Aleister Draco, was sacrificed. One way or another, she lost her strongest force.
Now, she was the only left of the Draco Family.
To be precise, only the sisters remained.
I couldn’t help but think of Mirna eating alone and spending her days in solitude inside that dark mansion, without her father to protect her anymore.
It felt pitiful…
And so, I tried to comfort her.
“Your father, Lord Aleister’s circumstance was unfortunate.”
“… Isn’t the world amazing? There is actually a day when I could hear such comfort again.”
“Again?”
When I asked my question, Mirna shook her head.
Her ruby-red eyes looked at Aira, who was dozing on the sofa in the bright room.
“The Queen of Tarantera also told me those words. The fact that my father’s outcome was a pity.”
“Ah.”
“To be honest, it was unexpected. The Queen who had been associated with all kinds of negative adjectives like ‘cruel’, ‘fierce’, ‘indifferent’, ‘arrogant’, was comforting me….”
Hearing that, I also felt a bit surprised.
This was because Aira’s thoughts would only revolve around herself. I thought she would do nothing to comfort other people’s pain.
Maybe… Aira saw her former self in Mirna?
After all, Aira lost her family one after another and eventually became the last one left, alone in the world. In this aspect, Aira could empathize with Mirna more than anyone else.
“And, I was surprised by you too, Theo Gospel.”
“Me?”
Mirna’s words took me out of my mind. When I turned my head, Mirna, who was looking up at the sky, was making eye contact with me before I knew it.
Because we were similar in height, my eyes and hers were positioned just right.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect much from you. But today, I have no choice but to admit that you have helped me a lot.”
“Ah.”
“You persuaded Lady Lioness for me. And even entered Gamigin’s dark fortress.”
Mirna seemed to be expressing her gratitude for what happened today.
“Your magic skills are even better than I expected. Especially when it comes to spells, they are no less than high-ranking Mages.”
“I was just doing the right thing.”
“Of course, it is only natural for a commoner like you to help a blue-blooded noble Lady like me. Still, I am a person who knows how to bow my head. I would like to thank you. Take it as an honor.”
“…….”
… She was thanking me while saying that it was an honor to be thanked by her?
One might think that she was a tough woman, but looking at her now, her face was visibly red as she tried putting up with shame.
Mirna shook her head and then promptly changed the topic.
“No, if you think about it, I don’t think I need to thank you. You’re just doing it to get my attention.”
“… I am?”
“Yes, I could see just how much you adore me.”
“… Huh?”
“They say that men do reckless things for the woman they love. If not for that, you wouldn’t have fought the magic of King Solomon and risked death, would you?”
Only then did I understand what Mirna meant. She thought that I liked her and thus participated in something reckless like today.
In fact, I was just wondering if I could get information about the Demon Lord Angmar and his mysterious magic. And I learned some spells out of this endeavor.
Come to think of it now, it was definitely reckless.
Still, Mirna and Elga were strong, so I wasn’t worried. However, Elga didn’t perform half of what she was capable of when dealing with Gamigin.
━I’ve already adjusted the power and still got a lot of this dirty mucus! Fuck this shit!
I’d heard of Elga grunting like that during the fight. Furthermore, the Elga depicted in the novel was much stronger. Perhaps, it was because she controlled her strength so that the castle would not collapse?
However, Mirna was not aware of such a fact, thus believing that I really risked it all without any guarantees.
“But, if you think that I will give you my heart, you are mistaken, Theo Gospel.”
“Then, there is nothing I can do.”
“… Nevertheless, your actions should be properly rewarded.”
Seuk.
Mirna held out something towards me.
I wondered what it was, then I saw something round wrapped up on Mirna’s hand.
“What is this?”
“Dal.”
” ‘Dal’ (*meaning moon)?”
“According to an ancient idiom, it means a compliment as sweet as honey. It is also a word for candy. It also means rest to those who have suffered so far….”
Saying that, Mirna’s face was red, and her voice was filled with tears.
“This is a precious reward given by the Draco Family to those who have suffered. Be honored.”
Seuk.
I accepted it.
Taking a closer look, the candy had the same paper material as the one that Aleister gave me during dinner.
It would probably taste the same.
Since it was from the same person.
Only then did I realize, somewhat, what this candy meant.
So I hesitated to just munch it all and decided to separate it in half.
“Let’s split.”
And handed the other part to Mirna, who was half crying.
She looked at the round candy that had been precisely divided into two, then put it in her mouth and lifted her head towards the moon above the balcony sky.
“… It’s too sweet for me.”
Mirna didn’t say anything after that.
I could see the candy that had melted in her mouth flowing down her eyes. But I already decided to keep everything a secret.
Hence, I pretended to not see it.
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